The lesson
The imperative is the form for telling people what to do: giving directions, offering, warning, encouraging. Italians use it much more than English speakers do, and it doesn’t sound bossy: Senti, Guarda, Dimmi and Scusa open half the conversations you’ll hear.
There are two sets. The informal one (tu, noi, voi) is mostly built on the present you already know. The formal one, for Lei, swaps the vowel: scusa to a friend, scusi to a stranger. Pronouns have their own rule too: on the end with friends (dimmi), in front with Lei (mi dica).
Tu: -a for -are verbs, the present for the rest
For -are verbs, the tu command ends in -a: parla, guarda, aspetta, mangia. That looks like the lui/lei present, not the tu present. Parli means you speak; Parla! means speak!
For -ere and -ire verbs, the tu command is simply the tu present: prendi, scrivi, senti, apri. Verbs with -isc- keep it: finisci, pulisci. Irregular presents carry over too: vieni, esci, bevi, tieni.
| present (tu) | command (tu) | |
|---|---|---|
| parlare | parli | parla |
| prendere | prendi | prendi |
| sentire | senti | senti |
| finire | finisci | finisci |
| venire | vieni | vieni |
Only -are verbs change. If the verb ends in -ere or -ire, just use the tu present.
Noi and voi: the present again
The noi and voi commands are the same as the present: andiamo, prendete, finite. The noi form means let’s: Andiamo! (Let’s go!). The voi form speaks to a group: Ragazzi, ascoltate!
Three common verbs have their own voi form: essere (siate), avere (abbiate) and sapere (sappiate).
Short forms: va’, fa’, da’, sta’, di’
Five everyday verbs have a short tu form written with an apostrophe: va’ (andare), fa’ (fare), da’ (dare), sta’ (stare) and di’ (dire). For the first four you can also use the present, vai, fai, dai, stai, and in speech you’ll hear both. Dire only has di’.
Essere, avere and sapere have forms of their own: sii (be), abbi (have) and sappi (know).
| tu | noi | voi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| andare | va’ / vai | andiamo | andate |
| fare | fa’ / fai | facciamo | fate |
| dare | da’ / dai | diamo | date |
| stare | sta’ / stai | stiamo | state |
| dire | di’ | diciamo | dite |
| essere | sii | siamo | siate |
| avere | abbi | abbiamo | abbiate |
| sapere | sappi | sappiamo | sappiate |
Dai! is also an everyday word for come on!: Dai, andiamo!
Don’t: non + infinitive
To tell one friend not to do something, use non + infinitive: Non parlare! Non andare! Non fare rumore! It’s never non parla or non vai.
With noi and voi, just put non before the normal command: Non parliamo di lavoro, Ragazzi, non correte!
Pronouns on the end
With tu, noi and voi, object pronouns, reflexive pronouns and ci all join the end of the command as one word: guardalo, chiamami, alzati, mangiamolo, sedetevi. The stress stays where it was: GUAR-da-lo, se-DE-te-vi.
After the short forms va’, fa’, da’, di’ and sta’, the apostrophe goes and the pronoun’s first consonant doubles: da’ + mi = dammi, di’ + lo = dillo, fa’ + mi = fammi, va’ + ci = vacci. The one exception is gli: dagli, digli, fagli.
In the negative, the pronoun can join the infinitive or go before it: non farlo or non lo fare, non preoccuparti or non ti preoccupare. On the end, the infinitive drops its final -e.
When a pronoun joins, always start from the short form: dammi, fammi, never daimi or faimi.
Formal Lei: scusi, prenda, mi dica
To a stranger, a customer or anyone you call Lei, the endings swap: -are verbs end in -i (parli, scusi, giri), -ere and -ire verbs end in -a (prenda, senta, apra, finisca). Many verbs build it on the io present: vengo → venga, vado → vada, faccio → faccia, dico → dica, esco → esca. A few are irregular: dia (dare), stia (stare), sia (essere), abbia (avere).
Pronouns go in front, never on the end: Si accomodi (Have a seat), Mi dica (How can I help?), Mi scusi. The negative just adds non: Non si preoccupi.
| tu | Lei | |
|---|---|---|
| scusare | scusa | scusi |
| prendere | prendi | prenda |
| sentire | senti | senta |
| venire | vieni | venga |
| andare | va’ / vai | vada |
| fare | fa’ / fai | faccia |
| dire | di’ | dica |
These Lei forms come from the subjunctive, which you’ll meet later. For now, learn the common ones as phrases.
Commands that aren’t orders
Many commands are really conversation glue. Senti / Senta (Listen) gets attention, Guarda (Look) introduces a point, Dimmi / Mi dica offers help, Tieni (Here you are) hands something over, and Figurati! means don’t mention it.
That’s why the imperative doesn’t sound bossy in Italian. Among friends, Prendi un altro caffè! is an offer, not an order.
Common mistakes
- Parli più piano! (to a friend)Parla più piano!For tu, -are verbs end in -a. Parli is the present, or the Lei form.
- Non parla!Non parlare!A negative command to a friend is non + infinitive.
- Dimi la verità.Dimmi la verità.After di’, the pronoun’s consonant doubles: dimmi.
- Daggli il libro.Dagli il libro.Gli never doubles: dagli, digli, fagli.
- Lo prendi! (Take it!)Prendilo!With tu, the pronoun joins the end of the command.
- Scusa, signora, dov’è la posta?Scusi, signora, dov’è la posta?To a stranger, use the Lei form: scusi.
- Dicami.Mi dica.With Lei, the pronoun goes in front: mi dica, si accomodi.
The full table
Friends get tu, noi or voi; strangers get Lei. Pronouns go on the end with friends, in front with Lei.
| -are | tu parla · noi parliamo · voi parlate · Lei parli |
| -ere | tu prendi · noi prendiamo · voi prendete · Lei prenda |
| -ire | tu senti, finisci · noi sentiamo · voi sentite · Lei senta, finisca |
| short tu forms | va’ · fa’ · da’ · sta’ · di’ · sii · abbi · sappi |
| don’t (tu) | non + infinitive: non parlare, non andare |
| pronouns | on the end with friends: dimmi, alzati · in front with Lei: mi dica |
After va’, fa’, da’, di’, sta’ the consonant doubles: dammi, dillo, vacci. Not with gli: dagli.
With non, the pronoun goes before or after: non lo fare or non farlo.
Friend or stranger: scusa / scusi, senti / senta, prendi / prenda.
In short
- Tu: -are → -a (parla); -ere and -ire use the tu present (prendi, senti, finisci). Noi and voi are the present (andiamo, prendete).
- Short forms: va’, fa’, da’, sta’, di’, and sii, abbi, sappi.
- Don’t, to a friend: non + infinitive (non parlare). Noi and voi just add non.
- Pronouns join the end with friends (dimmi, alzati), doubling after short forms except gli (dammi, dagli); with non, before or after (non lo fare, non farlo).
- Lei swaps the vowel and puts pronouns in front: scusi, prenda, mi dica, si accomodi.